One Step From Your Arms
by Catherine E. Grant
Summary: A sweet little tale of Joxer/Gabrielle and Xena/Ares!
1. One Step From Your Arms

ONE STEP FROM YOUR ARMS

Author: Catherine E. Grant

Summary: Um…Joxer & Gabrielle realise they're in love after Xena does her best to set them up!

Disclaimer: I wish, I wish, I wish… Nah. You know the drill. I don't own them, RenPic doesn't sue me.

~~~  
ONE STEP FROM YOUR ARMS  
~~~

Joxer looked nervously across the campfire and met Gabrielle's eyes. She flashed him a quick, but puzzled smile. He went back to sharpening his sword and nearly sliced his fingers off. "Ow!" he exclaimed, and quickly placed the offended digit in his mouth, scowling at the blade. He looked so comical that Gabrielle had difficulty suppressing a laugh.

She smiled instead, and was rewarded by a dark blossoming blush across his face. Quickly he ducked his head. Even his ears were red, the bard discovered curiously. He fidgeted under her gaze.

Shaking her head, Gabrielle steeped her fingers and drew a deep, steadying breath. "Look, what is it with you tonight Joxer?" she asked finally. "Xena leaves us alone for a couple of days to go see some acquaintance in that village, and you're behaving like a nervous schoolboy on" -_on your first date_, she finished silently. Was that what this was? She tried again. "We're friends, Joxer, we don't keep things from each other. If there's a problem I expect you to tell me about it, and I would do the same. IS there a problem?"  
  
Joxer shook his head quickly. "Nope, no problem." He still wouldn't meet her gaze. "Look, the fire's getting pretty low, why don't I get some firewood?"  
He got to his feet.

Gabrielle jumped to hers.

"The fire is _fine_, Joxer!" she exploded.

"It could definitely use some more wood," he opinionated stubbornly.

"You're avoiding the issue! There's something wrong, isn't it?" Gabrielle took another deep breath. "Is it me?"

He shook his head silently. She couldn't read his expression but for a moment, she thought she saw something in his eyes. "No, there's nothing wrong, Gabrielle. It's just me. Maybe we should turn in early." Joxer turned away from her and sat sadly down on his bedroll. Quietly he lay down, back to the fire, and to her. 

Gabrielle sat for a while longer, studying the still form. Joxer was definitely nervous around her. Desperately she wished for Xena to come riding out of the forest and break the tension. The warrior had explained that she would be away for several days because she had to see an old friend in a nearby village to tie up some personal business. The message: stay here, don't kill each other and stay out of trouble. 

She'd said something strange before she left, too, Gabrielle realised suddenly. Bard as she was, how could she have forgotten Xena's words? 

__

"The fool is a mask for the one that cannot hide behind pretty words." 

Laughing, she'd dismissed it as another 'Xenaism' and put it down to the warrior's recent queer behaviour. It had to be something to do with the 'old friend' and 'personal business' she wanted to clear up. Gabrielle hoped fervently her friend would be back to normal by the time she got back. She needed her here, the old Xena, to relieve this unexpected distance between herself and Joxer. How could she feel so uncomfortable around such a close friend?  
  
Sure, he was a fool and all…

"The fool is a mask for the one that cannot hide behind pretty words."

The fool! Xena had been talking about Joxer! 'The one who hides behind the mask of the fool.' And I guess I must be the one who hides behind the mask of 'pretty words,' Gabrielle realised excitedly. The bard…pretty words…makes sense. So she thinks I'm hiding something behind what I say. And Joxer…the fool…a mask. She knew! She knew there would be some kind of tension to clear up between us! That conniving, scheming…

With a horrible feeling Gabrielle finally understood what Xena's 'personal business' had been. She'd gone off to give them some time to themselves to sort out whatever it was between them without a third party watching. It was a typical Xena thing to do.

Sighing, she looked over at where Joxer lay. He still hadn't moved. He was attracted to her, she knew. Somewhere inside her, she knew she was attracted to him as well. But he's a fool! An idiot! 'Joxer the Mighty!' I've sung that silly song too, mocking him, making fun of him behind his back, and yet he comes back for more, faithfully, caring for me but not rubbing my face in it. Coming back each time in the hope I won't reject him again. And what do I do? I reject him. Time and time again. Helpless tears began to flow down Gabrielle's face and she covered them with her hands. "Oh, Joxer" she whispered softly, not trying to hide her confusion at the strange whirlpool of feelings she found within her. At one level she needed him as a friend, another she didn't want to get involved with anyone, but at another she kept feeling something stronger. And for Joxer! The sheer ridiculousness of it all made her head swim. She laughed bitterly through her tears and collapsed helplessly on her own bedroll.

A hesitant hand descended slowly onto her shoulder and then Joxer was there, concern written across his face, placing a comforting arm around her shaking figure. "It's okay, Gabby," he soothed softly, and the bard found herself shaken by his gentleness. Again she found herself realising what she had wanted to deny. She was falling for Joxer.

"Oh Joxer!" she cried again, piteously, burying her face against his chest. Tenderly he wrapped both arms around, pulling her into a firm hug she soon found herself returning. The wonder of the situation made him loath to blink or move in case he woke up.

Gabrielle stirred, pulling away to look at him. Sniffling, she said, "I've been a real bitch to you, haven't I? I've treated you so badly, but you've always been there for me, no matter what happened. I don't deserve you, Joxer."  
  
"Hush." He smiled lightly and Gabrielle found herself smiling in return. "It's okay," he said again. 

They sat in stillness, neither wanting to shatter the moment. Finally Joxer said "You haven't treated me badly, Gabby, you shouldn't think that you have. You're one of the best friends that I have, you know that."

  
She nodded. "I'm so confused, Joxer, I just don't know what's going on with me any more. One moment I'm fine and the next I can't work out what I feel."  
"I see."  
"No, you don't!" She reached across the short distance that sometimes felt like a chasm and placed a tentative hand against the side of his face. "I think I'm in love with you."

Joxer wasn't sure what he'd heard. "What!?" he exclaimed loudly, staring at her in surprise. Gabrielle flushed in embarrassment and snatched her hand away as though burnt. "Nothing!" she shot back quickly, "I didn't say anything!" Could it be after all this time he didn't love her any more? It was the curse of her life that every time she thought she'd found someone she lost them again. It happened with everyone except Xena, of course, and until now, Joxer. But would she lose him too?

"Have I lost you too?" she whispered, starting to cry again as she fidgeted with her hands. 

"Oh" was all he said. A sinking feeling grew within the bard and threatened to engulf her. Was this how it felt to be rejected by the one you loved? The bard began to have a certain feeling of kinship with Ares. He had been spurned by Xena so many times that both she and the warrior had lost count…but somehow she didn't think Ares had. There were times, when he bantered, and tried to annoy them, that she saw flashes of genuine hurt in his eyes. But every time he would return, simply to be in Xena's company once more, when all she wanted was to be rid of him. Finally, Gabrielle thought she understood how he felt. 

Lost in her misery, she didn't realise when Joxer began to speak. Jolting herself she turned to look at him. He peered at her expectantly. Gabrielle shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said, I was miles away" she apologised quickly. He nodded. "The one time in my life that I actually say something eloquent and she doesn't hear it!" he told the sky bemusedly.

"I'm listening now. Tell me now, Joxer."  
He fidgeted. "Well, actually, maybe, it wasn't really all that eloquent."  
"I'm listening."  
"I love you. I said, I love you, because, well…"

Gabrielle stared at him and a silly grin began to spread over her features. "You do! Oh, oh Joxer!" Somehow managing to love and cry at the same time she launched herself at him, and he caught her easily to hold her close. Gently, nervously, he angled her face towards his and lowered his head to kiss her. As his lips touched hers Gabrielle experienced a feeling she had thought never to know. It hadn't been this way with Perdicus…Suddenly, joyously, she KNEW. Her inner conflict resolved, she kissed Joxer firmly back, revelling in the feeling of his arms around her and his lips against hers. Tenderly he plied his tongue inside her mouth and Gabrielle was awash with new sensations. How could he be such an expert kisser? He was bumbling, awkward, foolish…yet his hands felt so wonderful against her skin and the taste of him made her lose the remainder of her inhibitions.

Gently he lowered her to the bedroll as they both tried to remove the other's clothes without breaking the kiss. Finally, they had found their Way…each other.

In the trees outside the clearing Xena laughed with merriment and punched the air happily. Something had finally managed to go right between those two. It had taken long enough. Still laughing, she shouldered her pack and strolled off in the direction of the village. She really should make at least one appearance there so Gabrielle didn't get suspicious later. 

THE END

Words: 1660

Hey, folks, do I get some feedback for that one? Look out for the sequel, **_Time and Again_**, where Gabrielle and Joxer put their heads together to try to set a certain warrior princess up with a certain god of war. Cheerio!


	2. Time And Again

TIME AND AGAIN

Author: Catherine E. Grant (avatar_31@angelfire.com)

Summary: Sequel to "One Step From Your Arms." Well meaning friends try to set a certain warrior princess up with a certain god of war.

Disclaimer: They aren't mine any more now than when I first started writing fanfic. Do you think if we make up a petition we'd be allowed to borrow them on a more permanent basis? I mean, c'mon guys, you killed off Joxer so you can't want him…

~~~  
TIME AND AGAIN  
~~~

"…So, that's the last of it!" Gabrielle finished triumphantly, waving her hands around as she spoke. Joxer furrowed his brow. "You sure this is a good idea, Gabby?"  
  
"Yes! Believe me Joxer, she'll thank us for it eventually."  
He continued to look doubtful but shrugged his shoulders in defeat. Joxer, of all people, knew how futile it was to argue with Gabrielle when she had an Idea. "What do we do then?" he asked instead.

"About what?" came Xena's voice before the bard had a chance to answer. She quickly pulled a face at Joxer and raised a deft finger to her lips. He nodded slightly. 

"Oh, we were just trying to work out what to cook for dinner" Gabrielle offered quickly, beaming widely at Xena. The warrior merely arched an eyebrow. "Really?"  
"Really." Gabby elbowed Joxer in the ribs and he added a "Yes, definitely!" to her emphatic nods.

"I see." Xena walked over and sat on the fallen tree trunk beside them. "Have fun while I was gone?" she asked idly. 

Gabrielle sucked in breath rapidly. Xena waved a languid hand. "Never mind."  
"You – you – KNEW!"  
"Knew what?"

"You tried to set us up!"  
"Hmmm…well, maybe." The warrior kept her answer as non-committal as possible, but couldn't hide her grin as she asked "So, well, did it work?"  
  
Gabrielle and Joxer exchanged a look and the bard hung her head, laughing softly. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then" Xena said after a moment.

"Yes" Joxer answered for both of them. Placing an arm around the bard's shoulders he gave her a brief hug. "Gabby still wants to skewer you though!"  
  
"Guess I'll just have to keep my sword hidden then," she replied lightly. "I am really happy for you two. This is a long time overdue, you know that?"  
"Ye-ess" Gabrielle muttered, rolling her eyes. "Thanks, Xena. It took me a while to figure out what you meant, and even then I nearly stuffed it up, but everything turned out alright, in the end."  
  
"Better than alright, I'd say." Xena indicated the closeness of the pair and Joxer's arm around her friend's shoulders. A bit sheepishly they broke apart. "Yeah, well, you were right," Gabrielle admitted.

"Will wonders never cease?" the would-be Cupid asked rhetorically, raising both hands to the sky in supplication. "Do you still want to skewer me then?"  
At Gabrielle's answered "no" she got up laughing and began to check Argo's packs. She never heard the bard add "I've got something a lot better waiting for you…"

****

The Halls of Love

Aphrodite languished happily on her light pink throne and giggled in satisfaction. "This is soooo just me!" she declared to the world in general, and Cupid in particular. The young love god tried unsuccessfully to look interested.

"Well, if you don't like it, just say so, sweetcheeks" pouted Aphrodite, giving him a quick glare. Cupid glanced around him hurriedly. "It's um, well, it's um pink" he announced lamely, after considering various replies and dismissing them hurriedly. His mother rolled her eyes. "Well, that WAS the idea." 

"Nah, it's good, I like it. It's just a bit…pink."

"You are just no fun at all! Haephie said the same thing. Men! Not that I don't appreciate you, of course…" she flirted seductively. Used to her game, Cupid laughed, and shook his head. "Guess I'll be going now, bye Mum," he replied, vanishing in a cloud of golden sparkles. Aphrodite chewed her lip a moment before a mischievous grin stole across her face and she pointed a finger at the place where Cupid had stood. He liked gold, did he? Well he could just get used to pink…

It made her feel a LOT better.

Now, she just needed something more interesting to do. Like solving a problem that had been bugging her for the past few years. It was about time Ares acknowledged that the warrior babe was more to him than just another fighter. This was going to be fun.

Still giggling, she disappeared in a cloud of sparkles. 

****

Xena's campsite

The evening sun dipped down into a dull twilight, heralding the approach of winter. At the edge of the small clearing a figure fought an imaginary opponent, blocking, twirling, twisting, kicking the air. An exuberant war cry split the air as the fighter slashed against the breeze, parrying strokes only she could see.

A gentle hand fell on Gabrielle's shoulder and she looked up into the face of the man she loved. "Hi" she said softly, taking the well-chewed quill out of her mouth with a guilty movement. Joxer took the tattered feather and smoothed it out between his fingers. Kissing it tenderly he gravely returned it to her and sat down. Gabrielle shifted slightly to make room on the blanket.

"She's good, isn't she" Joxer commented, watching Xena.   
"Yeah, she's the best" the bard replied and smiled lazily. 

"I certainly wouldn't want her angry at me."  
"Joxer, what are you saying?" Gabrielle put down her scroll and faced him squarely. He shrugged. "I'm just not sure if trying to set up Xena and Ares is a good idea."  
She rolled her eyes. "Of course it is, you know that…We just have a couple of minor problems, that's all."  
"Only two?"  
"Um, well, the first is persuading Xena that she really needs Ares."  
"And the second?"  
"Persuading Ares that he really needs Xena."

Joxer sighed, and his breastplate clanged miserably. "I love your definition of minor, Gabby."  
"It's not serious, we can do it! I'm sure of it. They're MEANT to be together…I mean, just look at the way Ares keeps hanging around Xena!"

"He's obsessed" her lover replied flatly.

"He's in love – no, don't look at me like that! I know what I'm talking about, it's just so obvious! Sometimes he gets this really hurt look in his eyes, when Xena rejects him, and then he gets all brusque and stand-offish."  
"Gabby, Ares is always brusque and stand-offish."  
"That has nothing to do with it!"  
"Really?"  
"Yes! Oh, Joxer, let's not argue…Will you help me? Please?"  
He nodded slowly, and she grinned happily. "Thanks, I knew I could count on you!" Leaning across, Gabrielle kissed him and both forgot all about Xena.

***

Xena finished her workout with a final yell and forcefully sheathed her blade. She'd needed that. In the past month of so they hadn't met any opponents to even make the warrior princess raise a sweat, and she was feeling the lack of exercise sorely. 

Soft moans from beside the campfire made her grin. Who would have thought Gabrielle and JOXER, of all people? A year ago she would have sworn the girl would have been more likely to tear out the idiot's throat than end up in his arms. Well, I guess you never can tell, she mused silently. In such a comparatively short time Joxer seemed to have grown up in more ways than one; he had become a person she was proud to call friend...not that she was always willing to admit that. Little wonder that Gabrielle had fallen for him. She had always had a soft spot for the 'gentler' type of man, the type who would cut out his own heart rather than hurt her…

'Whereas all I seem to attract are arseholes who want to use me,' Xena reflected. The thought of Ares intruded itself and she quickly banished it. He was exactly the type of person she'd been thinking about…self centred, arrogant, dominating and totally insensitive. Yet he never seemed to leave her alone. 'I'm glad Gabrielle found someone who cares about her,' she decided, giving the couple a quick glance and smile. They were oblivious.

Grabbing a piece of fruit to nibble on out of Argo's saddlebags, Xena checked her weapons one last time and threaded her way through the trees for a walk. Here, in the depths of the forest, the branches closed in together, creating an ominous, foreboding den. Soft animal noises filtered through the undergrowth. Somewhere, an owl hooted. No sound arose from the light footfalls of the warrior as they crushed the fallen leaves. 

__

Softly, softly…the panther stalks her prey and yet another victim falls beneath her flashing blade. She leaves no trail. No one hears her come and no one is left to hear her go.

Xena slinks into the shadows, breathing lightly and gazing around her with narrowed eyes. She enjoys this; enjoys this game which draws upon all of her skills, giving her the challenge that she needs while not endangering any lives. Only a few times in Xena's life has she ever felt the serenity of her surroundings, yet she is beginning to appreciate it now. She wants to appreciate it.

A heartbeat before placing her foot down onto a broken twig, Xena hesitated. No. Smiling slightly she stepped instead onto a soft cushion of moss and drew her tall frame into the shadow of a gnarled and withered tree. The denseness of the foliage was enough to hide her from any opponent. 

She KNEW he was there. Oh, he had trained her right, had that one. Glorifying in creating a warrior equal to no mortal man, he had seen the establishing of a foe akin in skill to war itself. Himself. What had drawn them together; his teaching, her learning; had ultimately forced them apart, coalescing into a molten wedge between the two souls. Somewhere between them lurked a chasm of flames and unscaleable walls and each walked in fear of tumbling into it. He grew reckless, reaching across the divide yet she couldn't help retreating. What little hope there once had been for them seemed extinguished forever…but in the loneliness of steel and bloodshed, he would sometimes raise his head and call her name. Blue eyes would look into the distance and see him there. Dreams, for both of them, lurked beneath the surface and refused to be acknowledged. Someday, something cried. Someday. 

The warrior tensed a fraction, allowing the well-worn blade to flow down into her hand with one fluid motion. Triumphantly, she smiled and raised it to chest level. "Show yourself" Xena purred seductively. Nothing. She stilled. A twig cracked behind her and she whirled, lashing out instinctively. Her sword clashed jarringly against another, as yet still swallowed by the emptiness. 

Clang. Clang. She allowed her body to take control, becoming an extension of the sword she bore. Fluid movements flowed from arm to blade and back again. Inherently the warrior called upon her knowledge of her craft without the need to think each movement through. Perhaps this was not was she was born for, a little voice taunted…but it was certainly what she had been trained for, and it was what she had grown to love.

Strange, that such a caring and sensitive woman could grow so attached to the arts of war. Many a would-be warlord would have laughed, seeing her out of armour, relaxing with friends or talking to family, at the thought that here was one of the deadliest things in Greece. Then she would turn and meet their gaze, and something in her eyes made them duck their heads and put away any thought of war.

At least until she was gone.

She was deadly, that one. All who came against her or had the privilege of fighting beside her agreed on that. Xena; warrior princess, once destroyer of nations. Saviour of many souls yet fighting for her own. A bundle of contradictions, yet at heart a person who should have had countless friends, but had only the few. Good friends.

Much as she didn't like to admit it, HE was one of them, perhaps of all the one who knew her the best. Lunging, Xena extended and found herself flying through the air. She laughed; brought her feet up into a flip that left her standing on a lofty tree branch. He appeared next to her and they continued, blades intertwined in a dance that tore all energy from the body and fed it to one's soul, leaving one feeling exhilarated. A lover's dance, for the two already bound so tight it was ridiculous – and incredible – that they were not caught up in chains of love to balance those of power.

She jumped to avoid a narrow slice and found herself within the undergrowth once more, Ares' blade held at her chest. The breath pounded fiercely in Xena's chest yet he remained unfazed, carrying himself with his characteristic arrogance and cocky humour. Smiling, he sheathed his sword and gestured at her to do to same. Xena tightened her lips to reveal her teeth in a death mask's grin. Her blade remained in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" Xena demanded, circling him with sword drawn and at the ready.

He held up his hands placatingly, smirking with a pouting schoolboy flair that managed to infuriate and entertain at the same time. "Aphrodite's been annoying me, so I decided to come talk to you."  
"And annoy me."   
The god shrugged. "Not willingly. What are you doing out here, Xena?"  
"Just walking." Eying him suspiciously, she finally lowered the blade but refused to sheath it.

"It's a little late for a walk, isn't it?"  
"I decided to give Gabrielle and Joxer some privacy."  
"You mean they're…"

At Xena's nod, he burst into laughter. "Oh, this IS rich! The annoying little bard and the annoying little bumpkin finally find true love in each other's arms! This is too perfect to have had anything to do with my sister!"  
"I thought the same thing" she replied calmly "…only I wasn't being sarcastic."  
"You wound me."  
"Really?" 

He pouted heavily. "Really, Xena." Was it her imagination or did she see a genuine flash of sorrow in his eyes? She shook it off. 

"What did Aphrodite want?"  
"The usual" he responded sourly, and pulled a face. A little smirk crossed Xena's calm visage. "Oh, and that would be?" 

"You. Me. Together. Her. Happy. Annoying." His reply was succinct. She nodded. Such a statement didn't really need an answer, not when she knew what the Goddess of Love was like as well as any mortal could. 

"Well annoy someone else then. I want nothing to do with you." Xena waved her sword ever so slightly to emphasise her point. Ares shook his head sorrowfully, giving the blade a meaningful glance. When she didn't reply he walked composedly onto the weapon. Sighing, Xena withdrew the blade in one sharp motion and made a point of wiping it carefully on the ground before returning it to its sheath. "Get lost, Ares."  
  
"Did you know your little lovebirds are trying to set us up too?" The comment was unexpected, and drew a slight frown from the warrior. "Gabrielle and Joxer? What would they want to do that for? They hate you."  
"Obviously, they're willing to work around that. They feel sorry for you Xena, all alone, poor little woman with nobody to love her…" The god's tone grew insulting and she twisted her face in revulsion. "I have my friends."  
"They think you need…me, not just friends."  
He stepped closer, and Xena retreated till she felt the firmness of the tree trunk against her spine. "That's their problem" she said shortly. 

"Oh? Doesn't it concern you as well?"  
"No."  
"Not even a little bit? They are trying to affect our lives a little bit, don't you think?"  
"And why are you here irritating me with it?"  
"Because 'Dite's been irritating ME with it, and I don't want to hear it any more, I know you hate me and you'll never feel anything else towards me! Oh, don't think I don't know how you feel, Xena, it's not half obvious, is it? If I were mortal, despite all that we've been through, may I say been through TOGETHER, you'd still gladly slice me up, inch by inch. And I'd let you do it just because it was you doing it! Don't you get it, Xena? My sister and your little friends are trying to set us up because they know I'm completely in love with you and could never love anyone else, and that it scares the hell out of me! Heard enough now Xena? Because I'm through and I have nothing else to say! I'll leave you alone, I'll get lost, alright, but once I 'get lost,' I'll get lost and you'll never hear anything from me again. Is that what you want? Because it's not what I want, not ever, but I'll respect your wishes." He said the last in a barely perceptible whisper, but Xena's good hearing caught it easily. What in the world? Did he…?

"Goodbye, Xena." He faced her coldly, all the emotions he had just revealed gone behind an impenetrable mask. "I wish you luck with your life. I won't ask you to wish me luck with mine, because I know you wouldn't agree to." Silently, Ares raised his hand in salute and Xena found the paralysis that had bound her through his confession rapidly receding. "Ares, no! Wait."

A single tear that coursed down his sculptured cheek reflected the sudden hope in his eyes. "What?" His voice was still brusque, and she wondered if in the span of a heartbeat she'd lost her chance. He was irritating, arrogant, cocky, aggravatingly so, and had a superiority complex to rival all of Greece. But he was crying.

That, more than anything else, threatened to stop Xena's heart. He, the personification of hate, bloodshed, meaningless battle, was crying because he thought she had rejected him. How she'd prayed for a chance to do so…yet now that the moment had come, she found that she couldn't let him just walk, or in his case, fade, out of her life forever. 

"Don't leave me." It came out in a rush that left her cheeks horribly flushed. Biting her lip, the warrior princess stood her ground. How she would have laughed at herself before if she knew she'd be saying those words! But she couldn't take them back, she didn't want to…yet waiting for his answer was worse than the greatest of the torment she had undergone in life as a matter of course.

He stared at her. Xena took a step forward, inwardly shouting 'What am I DOING?' This wasn't her, it couldn't be; the old Xena would never be doing this. But the old Xena had never been threatened by losing the one constant in her life. Her mother, her friends, even Gabrielle changed, going on to newer and better things in life…it wasn't that they no longer needed her, or she them, but the feeling wasn't quite the same as before. Ares, though, was different. Each time he turned up he had some new challenge for her that she actively delighted in foiling, simply because he was the only one who COULD challenge her like that. And Xena thrived on challenges… Secretly she looked forward to the visits of the God of War, and missed them when he didn't show. Of all the aggravating, annoying things he'd ever tried to do to her, leaving for good was the one that cut the most. 

"Xena?" Belatedly she realised he was still waiting for a response. "Huh?" she came out of her foggy daze. He shook his head, rolling his eyes in a more normal manner. Still the same old Ares. Did he seem nervous though? She snuck a quick peek. Yep, he was distinctly nervous. 'To think that I have such an effect on him,' she mused curiously. It really WAS amazing, for though she admitted freely to herself (but never aloud) that he had such an affect on her, she had never dreamed that it could be reciprocated. 

Life was strange sometimes.

"Ares, please don't go. You annoy me, sometimes you really piss me off and if you were mortal I'd gladly wring your neck; since you're not I'd probably try to anyway. But I don't know if I want to live without you, irritating though you can be."

"So I don't repulse you?" His words hung with bitterness. "What?"  
"Repulse you. For being what I am…who I am. I stand for everything you fight against and everything you rejected in yourself, yet you're willing to stand there and say you want me around."

"Oh." Much of Ares' behaviour began to make sense and she inwardly kicked herself. 'I've been such a fool! How could I have been so obtuse?' Little things, isolated incidents and general quirks of the god began to stand out in her mind. It seemed, ever since she'd left the army and he'd started hanging around, all he was doing was saying 'I love you' at every turn. The way he healed her once after a battle and left before anyone else turned up so she could pretend she'd never been injured. The way he always left her a way out of every situation he set up, relying on her to find it. How when he spoke to her that funny characteristic grin would cross his face and his eyes would light up. She'd been such a fool!  
  
A slight groan escaped her lips before she had the chance to clamp them down. Ares immediately became concerned. "Xena, what's wrong?" Hesitantly he touched her on the shoulder. "Nothing, oh, I'm just realising what a fool I've been all these years." She turned a degree and hugged him, relaxing as he tenderly put his arms around her. What could have been an awkward moment melted into one of togetherness as they stood in each other's quiet embrace. Finally Xena spoke. "I'm sorry Ares, I've been a real idiot. We could have together years ago if only I hadn't been so obtuse…I guess sometimes you have to whack me over the head with something before I notice. Even JOXER realised before I did! Now that's saying something!" She shook her head slightly and Ares stroked her hair, entwining it between his fingers. Smiling, Xena leaned into his embrace. "I feel awful because I never realised. I just never realised. I never thought you could feel this way…" 

He stilled his motion and drew away from her. "It's because I'm still the God of War, isn't it? I knew things couldn't be changed between us, not like this." Sorrowfully he began to walk away. "I guess I pushed my luck, hey? No one could love the God of War." Guessing what he was about to do, Xena ran after him and grabbed him roughly, twisting him around to face her. "Give up your godhood and I will personally flay you alive and make you into a saddlerug for Argo! I don't want you to change. I just meant that I didn't think you could feel this way because I definitely didn't think I could. Just because you stand for war doesn't mean it's in every part of you. I've seen the man behind the incarnation; I know you are not as coldhearted and ruthless as you would have the world believe. Maybe you can try to fool yourself, Ares, but don't think you can try to fool me. Not now."  
  
"Do you really mean that?" Ares examined her face closely, looking for the truth or lie behind her words. The warrior looked back at him, trying to put all of her feelings into her eyes. She wasn't good at putting them into her speech so this would have to do…Oh, if only he could see how she felt! What for the words to say what revolved in her heart. Slowly he reached out a hand to take hers. It fitted comfortably into his grasp as though it had always been there. He raised it to his lips, never breaking eye contact with Xena even as a trademark smirk began to cross his face. The devil danced in his eyes as she returned the grin and snatched her hand back to wrap both around him. "Much better," she purred mischievously. "Now I expect you were about to take us somewhere more comfortable?"  
  
He looked around them in mock indignation. "And what's wrong with the ground, may I ask? The ground's good enough for little Joxer and Gabrielle! Are you telling me the fiercesome Warrior Princess isn't as tough as a guy that struts around wearing a pasta strainer?"  
  
Xena lowered her voice and looked "shyly" up at him from between her lashes. "Oh mighty God of War, this humble mortal begs, um, humbly, that you in your glory not make her sleep on cold and wet and miserable ground, because she knows she could never be as tough as the mighty Joxer, the um, Mighty, and would catch her death of cold and…" She couldn't keep it up any longer and burst into laughter, while Ares was already struggling to keep the tears from trickling down his face as he howled. "Okay, okay, you've made your point!" He held out a hand and smiled as she took it. 

Together, they disappeared in a flicker of blue light.

***  
The sun was already well up by the time Xena walked into camp in the morning. More importantly to the warrior princess, so were Gabrielle and Joxer. Thankfully, she realised immediately, they believed that she had risen before them, which was hardly out of the ordinary, and taken a stroll before coming back to wake them. 

"Hi Xena," Gabby said sleepily while she dug through Argo's saddlebags for something to eat. "Aha! Found it!" Triumphantly she drew out a heavy bag of nuts and dried fruit, and took a large handful before offering them to Joxer. He declined. Xena also shook her head; she'd eaten at Ares' temple before asking him to return her to the campsite. He'd obliged by placing her just outside of the circle of trees, to not make their 'activities' quite so obvious. She smirked a little to herself. He could be really thoughtful sometimes.

Gabrielle caught the expression and stared at her thoughtfully. "You okay Xena? You're looking pretty happy this morning," she commented. Xena raised an eyebrow and contrived to look innocent. "I'm in a good mood" she said simply.

"Thank heavens for small favours" commented Joxer sotto voce, but both women ignored him. "Something on your mind, Xena?"   
"No, would there be?"

"Maybe." The bard continued to watch her friend suspiciously as they packed up camp for the day. Xena mounted Argo in one deft motion, and, as usual, offered Gabrielle a hand up. She shook her head, indicating Joxer. "No thanks, I think I'd rather walk" she replied, not quite hiding the silly grin that stole over her face when she looked at him. Xena merely bit her lip and nodded, trying to keep the smile that threatened to burst out from taking over her own face. How she knew how that felt!  
  
"I tell you, Joxer, there's something up with Xena" Gabrielle commented in a low voice as they walked along.

The pair had covered a few metres ahead of Xena, trying to allow their voices to be lost on the wind, which they would have been if not for one small measure of interference. Ares appeared behind Xena on Argo, visible only to her and obviously making himself lighter for the mare didn't seem to react to the added weight. "They're talking about us again" he said softly, waving a hand to allow her to hear the conversation up ahead.

"Well, maybe she's just happy, as she said" Joxer was saying, as Gabrielle threw up her hands in disgust. "I think she saw someone last night, we have no proof that she ever came back to the campsite before we woke up! I think she met someone when she disappeared for those few days to give us some time alone. It's the only thing that could explain this sudden change."  
"She hasn't changed that much, you know" he debated seriously, "are you sure you're not just imagining things Gabby?"  
"Nope, I'm sure. When you get to know Xena she's really very easy to read, and she's keeping something – or I thing someone – from us. We just have to find out a way to make her tell us."  
"Oh." He considered this. "Who do you think it could be, then?"  
"How am I supposed to know? Maybe it's a warrior, some drop dead gorgeous 'studmuffin,' as Aphrodite would say, maybe he's just a nice guy with a cute smile, oh I don't know!"  
"He'd have to be somebody out of the ordinary to catch Xena's attention" theorised Joxer, and Gabrielle nodded sagely. Xena grinned in agreement, twisting round to catch Ares' matching 'I'm not gonna laugh but little do they know' expression. She bit her lip and listened to her two friends extol the list of virtues required in any man that she could fall in love with. So far, they were mostly right. Ares looked like the cat who'd not only stolen the cream but been given the cow it came from.

Xena decided to put an end to this before someone put their foot in it and said something that would cause great embarrassment. Waiting for a natural lull in the conversation she raised her voice and added "Am I allowed to add some ideas too or is this a pedestrians only discussion?" The two looked at each other sheepishly, Gabrielle colouring a bright crimson. She muttered "We, are, we,"  
"…had no idea you could hear us" Joxer finished smoothly, going a similar shade to that of the blonde woman beside him. They both looked as guilty as she'd ever seen them, Xena decided.

"Well normally I wouldn't have been able to…" she drawled, catching their expressions as Ares materialised on the road next to the horse, "…but as you can see, I had help!"  
  
Joxer and Gabrielle stared at each other open-mouthed, then at Xena, at Ares and back to each other again. 

"It's what you wanted, isn't it?" Ares asked helpfully, as Xena swung down from Argo's back to stand beside him. 

"Well, uh…"

"Yes!" They said together, Joxer pulling a puppy dog face and Gabrielle beginning to laugh, "we just thought you'd need a little help…"

"I told you there were only minor problems!" the pixie like blonde exclaimed with a winsome grin, clapping her hands together in delight, while Joxer looked long-suffering and Ares and Xena laughed.  
  
"I have many skills" the warrior deadpanned.

"I'll testify to THAT!" smirked Ares with a wicked grin. 

She hit him.

On foot, they set off down the well-worn track, Xena leading Argo and Gabrielle itching to get at the scrolls packed in her saddle-bags. She had to record this before some important detail slipped out of her mind. What a story it would make! The Warrior Princess, and her God of War… Her bardic mind dreamt up all sorts of elaborate frills and poetic phrasings to tack onto the story she just KNEW would be a favourite for years to come in taverns and households and thick green fields of lovesick teenagers across Greece, for years to come.

The others feared she might just be right, though as Xena told Ares laughingly when he expressed his concerns "it's free publicity and you needed to update your image anyway." 

Somewhere ahead of them, Gabrielle's distinct clear tones floated back cheerfully, "and then they all lived happily ever after!"

THE END  
  
Words: 5248

Please, please send me some comments for this one. If you spent the time to read the entire piece, and you're not feeling entirely mad towards me, don't you think you could spare the ten or so seconds it takes to write a review? A couple of words would be nice. It's really disheartening to spend time writing something like this and then finding out that lots of people read it but no one thought it good enough to review. It really puts you off writing anything else. So please, if you thought it wasn't that bad, could you give me a comment or two???


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